Russia blames Nato for Georgia
2008-09-20 10:12
Moscow - Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev on Friday accused Nato of provoking the conflict with
Georgia but he said strains with the West did not mean Russia
planned to isolate itself behind a new Iron Curtain.
Medvedev was speaking a day after US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said Russia had taken a "dark turn" and urged
the West to stand up to what she called its bullying tactics.
"We are in effect being pushed down a path that is founded
not on fully-fledged, civilised partnership with other
countries, but on autonomous development, behind thick walls,
behind an Iron Curtain," Medvedev told a gathering of civil
society groups in the Kremlin.
"That is not our path. For us there is no sense going back
to the past. We have made our choice."
He said the Nato alliance's role in the Georgia conflict
showed it was unable to provide security in Europe, underlining
the need for a new security mechanism.
"What did Nato secure, what did Nato ensure? Nato only
provoked the conflict, and not more than that," he said.
Responding to Medvedev's remarks, NATO spokesperson James
Appathurai said there was nothing provocative in promoting
democratic and economic reform and supporting Georgia's
aspirations to move closer to the West.
Bids affected
Russia launched a counter-attack by land, sea and air last
month after Georgian forces tried to retake the Moscow-backed
breakaway region of South Ossetia. Western states condemned
Russia's actions as disproportionate.
Russian officials say Nato's agreement to take in Georgia as
a member emboldened Georgia to attack South Ossetia. The Kremlin
says Western states also played a role by arming Georgia's
military.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at an event in
Britain on Friday, said Russia's action in Georgia would cost
Moscow far more in the long term than any short-term gains it
achieved.
Europe and Washington would take decisions in coming months
that could affect Russian bids for membership of the World Trade
Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Gates said.
"Russia's recent behaviour raises questions about how
successful we can be in trying to pursue a constructive
relationship," he said.
Distortion
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday accused Rice of
distorting the events which lead to the war.
"We in Russia are not going to indulge too much in rhetoric
or be dragged into a confrontation - either rhetorical or
anything else. We look to the future and we expect the American
side to do the same," it said in a statement.
Medvedev's pledge that Russia will not retreat into
authoritarianism appeared aimed, in part, at rebuilding battered
confidence on financial markets.
Russian stocks this week suffered their worst losses in a
decade, though they recovered strongly on Friday after the state
made available a $130bn emergency support package.
The fall was caused by a combination of global financial
turmoil, falling oil prices and market worries that the rift
with the West over Georgia had driven up political risk.